He was arrested driving a minibus in France with 10 illegal immigrants hiding inside
James Gordon has been jailed for eight years(Image: Hull Live)
A property landlord who tried to smuggle illegal immigrants into this country – to work at secret cannabis factories in Hull – has been jailed for eight years. Police found three separate cannabis factories at premises owned by him, with a total estimated wholesale cannabis value of more than £500,000.
James Gordon claimed that he did not know a thing about the “industrial” amounts of cannabis that were being grown – and that he never even noticed the distinctive smell of the drug. Police discovered the first “sophisticated set-up” for a cannabis factory only by pure chance after finding paperwork with Gordon’s name on it while investigating a serious fire involving multiple vehicles at a property in a quiet rural village.
He was stopped while driving a bus in France and 10 illegal Albanian immigrants were found hiding inside, Hull Crown Court heard. Gordon, 66, of Withernwick Road, Great Hatfield, near Hornsea, and also Anlaby Road, west Hull, denied three offences of being concerned in producing cannabis on three separate occasions, on January 12, July 21 and December 23, 2020 but he was convicted by a jury after a nine-day trial at the end of 2024.
He was later convicted after a separate trial at Doncaster Crown Court in September last year of facilitating unlawful immigration. That case involved 10 Albanians being found hidden inside a bus that was stopped at a UK control zone in Coquelles, France, on October 5, 2020.
Michael Masson, prosecuting, said that police were eventually led to two adjoining properties in Anlaby Road after they initially received a report of a vehicle fire at Hatfield Croft, Withernwick Road, Great Hatfield, in the early hours of January 12, 2020. Multiple vehicles were severely damaged by fire.
Other vehicles there were registered to Gordon. His name was found on some paperwork and police discovered that Gordon was the owner of the Great Hatfield property and two in Anlaby Road.
This was what led police to go to the Anlaby Road properties, with the entrances down a locked alleyway. A warrant was obtained and they forced entry. Gordon was found.
The two properties had been adapted into a single one, despite showing two different names, Burstwick House and Burstwick News. It was being used to grow and process skunk cannabis. There were 137 plants.
“This was a sophisticated set-up,” said Mr Masson. There were lights and the electricity had been bypassed. It had to be made safe. “The defendant was obstructive on arrival,” said Mr Masson.
Gordon named three tenants. One of the properties had been divided into two, with interconnecting doors which could be accessed, he claimed. He lived in the other one.
On July 21, 2020, police investigating a report of a robbery went to one of the same Anlaby Road properties, which by chance was unlocked. Inside, they found a second substantial cannabis grow there. “Again, it was a sophisticated set-up,” said Mr Masson.
There was a watering system and lights and the electricity had been bypassed. This had to be made safe by Northern Powergrid. There were 451 cannabis plants and some dried and packaged cannabis.
It was a “continuous cycle of cannabis production” there. “During the course of the search of the property, a bottle of medication in the name of James Gordon was seized from a shed in the yard of the property,” said Mr Masson. The date on the bottle was 24 June, 2020.
There were several vehicles in the yard, including a black bus registered to Gordon. He was arrested at Hatfield Croft. On December 23, 2020, police searched the premises in Anlaby Road and found two Albanian men. They were later charged with and convicted of producing cannabis.
Rooms were found to contain a variety of items used in the growing of cannabis, including plastic sheeting, lights and a carbon filter. “The electricity supply had been bypassed yet again,” said Mr Masson.
There were 184 cannabis plants at various stages of growth and a large vacuum-packed bag. Gordon told the police that the property was separated into three and he was living in part of it.
He said that he had a tenant and that he had an agent, who rented out the properties on his behalf. He claimed that he visited the property every three to six months and he never smelled cannabis. He claimed that he had never been to a hydroponics shop, where items for growing plants could be bought.
The immigration offence was discovered after Gordon was stopped at a UK control zone in Coquelles, France, on October 5, 2020 while he was driving the same black bus that had been seen during the second cannabis search. It was searched and 10 Albanian men were found hidden in various parts of the bus.
Gordon was arrested and taken into custody in Folkestone, Kent. The illegal immigrants were refused entry into the UK. Their identity documents were seized.
Mobile phone evidence indicated that Gordon was involved in illegal immigration. About £12,000 in payments had been made to his bank accounts.
Gordon had travelled to Bulgaria and was returning to the Eurotunnel from Belgium. He later claimed that he had been threatened with a knife by two men in Belgium and was forced to transport the 10 Albanian men.
The bus was “hijacked” and threats were made to him, he claimed. It was thought that the Albanian men would have been transported to work in cannabis factories, said Mr Masson.
Patrick Williamson, mitigating, said that the immigration offence appeared to be a single incident and the Albanian men were being transported in a safe way. The whole of the offending happened over a relatively short period of time and there had been none since.
Gordon had a previous conviction in 2002 for failing to provide a breath specimen. He had led an industrious life in the past, had a degree in art and had consistently worked.
He acted out of character when making the “extraordinarily unwise” decision to get involved in offending in 2020. He had been on bail during the first trial but he was remanded in custody to await the second trial after that. While in custody, he had been working as a librarian.
Judge Tahir Khan KC told Gordon that he was satisfied that the object of the exercise in the immigration offence was for the Albanian men to be “put to work growing cannabis on your behalf” once they were in this country.
Payments of £12,000 had been made to Gordon for transporting them. “You had an expectation of significant financial reward,” said Judge Khan. There were “industrial” levels of cannabis involved at the factories. “This was repeat offending at a high level,” said Judge Khan.
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